SF’s Castro Theatre Renovators Clash with Community over Removing Seats

By Andrea James on August 15, 2022 4:42 pm

The heart of San Francisco's historic gay district is the Castro Theatre. As part of a $12 million renovation, owners plan to replace the iconic red theatre seats with removable ones, a move that some feel will change the venue too much. Via the [Read more...]

#WomenWeLove: Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy Onassis

By Stephen Rutledge on July 28, 2022 3:03 pm

This portrait of First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy was painted by Aaron Shikler in 1970 and was placed on public display in the East Room in 1971 Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy Onassis (1929- 1994) "There are two kinds of women, those who want power in the world and those who … [Read more...]

#BornThisDay: Happily Ever After with Eleanor Butler

By Stephen Rutledge on May 10, 2022 3:03 am

Miss Ponsonby and Lady Eleanor Butler In Their Library, engraving by Richard James Lane, Wikimedia Commons May 11, 1739 – Eleanor Butler This month, we find ourselves surrounded by political turmoil once more with the leak of a draft opinion showing that the U.S. Supreme … [Read more...]

#BornThisDay: The Empire State Building

By Stephen Rutledge on May 1, 2022 3:03 am

Photo via Wikimedia Commons The Empire State Building was dedicated on May 1, 1931. The star of more than 200 films, including On The Town (1949), An Affair To Remember (1957), Annie Hall (1977), The Producers(1968), Superman II (1980), Sleepless In Seattle (1993). It has been … [Read more...]

#BornThisDay: Mostly Forgotten Gay Artist, William Bruce Ellis Ranken

By Stephen Rutledge on April 12, 2022 3:03 am

1903 portrait by Adolph De Meyer via Wikimedia Commons April 12, 1881 - William Bruce Ellis Ranken He was a gay British artist and Edwardian aesthete. Born in Edinburgh, his father was a wealthy, successful lawyer. Ranken studied at Eton College before being accepted at the … [Read more...]

#BornThisDay: Early Film Superstar, Mary Pickford

By Stephen Rutledge on April 8, 2022 3:03 am

1910, Studio Shot, Wikimedia Commons April 8, 1892 – Mary Pickford: “Talking pictures are like putting lip rouge on the Venus de Milo.” The First Female Movie Mogul. Fashion Icon. The biggest star in showbiz. In 1919, Pickford, with D.W. Griffith, Charlie … [Read more...]

#BornThisDay: Designer/ Architect, Mary Colter

By Stephen Rutledge on April 4, 2022 3:03 am

April 4, 1958 - Mary Colter Mary Colter was an architect and interior designer whose distinct style was inspired by the imagery, culture, and landscape of the American Southwest. She was the primary architect for the Fred Harvey Company, designing hotels and rest shops … [Read more...]

#BornThisDay: William Morris (the Designer, Not the Talent Agency)

By Stephen Rutledge on March 24, 2022 3:03 am

March 24, 1834 - William Morris: "Any decoration is futile when it does not remind you of something beyond itself." One of my favorite people in Art History, Morris is the most celebrated practitioners of the Arts and Crafts Movement. He firmly believed in Art for all people and … [Read more...]

#BornThisDay: Art Patron, Edward James

By Stephen Rutledge on February 23, 2022 3:03 am

West Dean Archives, public domain February 23, 1907– Edward James Nestled between mountains in the deepest, darkest, dense lush heart of Mexico's Huasteca Potosina, an area along the Gulf of Mexico, is the tiny town of Xilitla, meaning "the place of … [Read more...]

#BornThisDay: Poet, Edna St. Vincent Millay

By Stephen Rutledge on February 22, 2022 3:03 am

February 22, 1892 - Edna St. Vincent Millay: My candle burns at both ends; It will not last the night; But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends It gives a lovely light! In the mid-1970s, my New York City boyfriend would take me on literary tours of the city, and one the spots that … [Read more...]